Scam and fraud

* Majority of Cobblestone Square Owners polled would not purchase their unit again

At a meeting with KHov Virginia officials on Thursday, April 10, 2008, co-owners at Cobblestone Square were asked if they knew at the time of purchase what they knew today, how many would purchase their unit again? A vast majority voted no.

* KHov Virginia has an unsatisfactory record with the Better Business Bureau

Reported on Tuesday, July 24, 2008 10:22 AM, "Based on BBB files, this company has an unsatisfactory record with the Bureau due to unanswered complaint(s)." In a letter dated June 16, 2008, David Dennis of the Better Business Bureau wrote, "As a result of our efforts, a vast majority of the thousands of complaint cases we handle each year are resolved." You can check KHov Virginia's latest BBB rating at: http://www.dc.bbb.org/report.html

* Official position of KHov Virginia is they do not have to abide by their verbal commitments

Time was you could trust a person's word. Not so KHov Virginia. In an email dated Thursday, May 8, 2008, Drew Main, the Director of Homeowner Service wrote David Dennis of the Better Business Bureau, "At no time does K.Hovnanian Homes accept verbal agreements as being binding." Note - this is from the Director of Homeowner Service.

If you have any questions about these facts or any other information, please contact me at ScottCampbellB AT cox.net.

Comments

I agree with Scott Campbell and live in the same building. This company has ignored many hazards reported by owners. Exposed wires, sprinklers above ground, lack of snow and ice removal, changing monthly fee's without contacting owners, no promises kept, no pool, no club house, no fitness center and recently sold the building that we were told that we had part ownership of when we purchased our condos. I don't lnow what the dues are for either. Recently after this last snow, I slipped and fell down 10 steps covered with ice and snow. I am now looking at surgery on the 14th of this month. I may even have to have a knee replacement. I'm on disability, a surviver of lung and breast cancer, and now looking at surgery again due to the neglegence of kHov. None of the main area's were cleared from snow and ice. Another older lady fell over a sprinkler, which by the way is 5 inches above ground, was covered by snow, so she didn't see it and ended up in the emergency room with a 16 hungred dollar bill. She is a senior citizen and I'm sure doesn't have that kind of money. Another owner ended up in the hospital because of the mold and bacteria in the water that we drink here. After her getting signatures from owners, the company was finally pushed into checking the water system, which indeed contained mold and bacteria. she claims to still have it in her water. We've had several gas leaks and were told that "that's normal." When I took the salesperson here to smell the fumes, she too had to cover her face from the fumes. When she contacted a higher up, guess what she was told, "that's normal." I think that's their line for everything. That's normal. When all of my lights in the kitchen go off because their hot, "that's normal." Use a flashlight to cook your dinner. I'm fed up with the lies and lack of concern for the owner's that bought here. No one cares that we can't get in our building because the door won't work. One lady found a bum sleeping in the floor when she entered her building one night. That's when the doors wouldn't lock. That went on for 3 months. We won't even go into the fact that the elavator's aren't kept certified and up to date or if they even work at all. That's normal. That's KHov's slogan. Don't buy here. And guess what, they are still selling promising a pool, clubhouse and fitness center. That's normal. Paula Wheeler unit 206 Wish me luck with my surgery and hopefully I won't get hurt again walking around the grounds. Again, "that would be normal."

I live in one of their communities in Jackson NJ, I think they deliver a QUALITY home and have been very responsive to every complaint. In the 4 years I have owned a Khov home I had one problem which was resolved within a day. The staff has been very helpfull and even corrected a problem that I caused.

To Paula -
If the living conditions in your home/condo are as abhorrent and substandard as you indicate in your complaint, here are a few questions a logical person should be asking before taking your gripe as legitimate:
1. Why have you not taken legal action against the company in question?
2. If the conditions in the building are as poor as you indicate, why have you not contacted the city in which you reside to have local building officials inspect the facility?
3. Why have you not contacted your local government representative to assist you?
4. Have you taken any time to consider that your story is a bit far fetched?
5. Have you considered contacting state officials? The elevator certification issue alone would be enough to involve state or local officials. Surely if the elevator problems as you describe them are so poor, then the other conditions you allege are so apparent throughout the remainder of the building and your home would get their attention immediately.
6. If a homeless individual was residing in your building, did you or any other person who lives int he building think of picking up a phone and contacting local law enforcement officials to have the person removed?
7. As for the grounds and building maintenance and someone being injured - why have you not contacted the association to which you are paying a monthly fee? Surely there would be some shared responsibility with the association? Or have you not taken the time necessary to review your association documents to review who is responsible for the upkeep of the building?
8. If someone was hurt as seriously as you say on the grounds, why would they not have contacted a legal representative to make contact with the company or association to press for restitution of medical bills?

Quite simply I think any person with a high school education would find your story of woe exaggerated to the point of fiction. You would have someone believe you have a mortgage on a home in a building to which the likes can only be found in a war-torn country. It is more believable that you have become unhappy with your purchase and are seeking some type of consolation from strangers while slandering a corporation.

I just went through the lending process with KHOV American Mortgage. To say the least, I don't think they ever intended to approve me. Their incentives and promotions offered were contingent on financing with KHOV American Mortgage. When I was not approved, all of a sudden, they were sending me other lenders who could probably approve me. No way. What would happen to all my negotiated items, promotions and incentives...they would be gone, I can assure you that but the contract price would have remained the same. Please please folks, read the fine print. I had a credit score in the good range, on a 259, 000 home I was willing to put down $175, ooo. Who does that nowadays? If I walked away they would have instant equity and my life's savings. Where's the risk? I would never walk away from my life's savings. They are mentally challenged if they can't figure that one out. But after reading all the posts on the shoddy workmanship and Chinese Drywall, I think the good lord was looking out after me. After I got the word I was disapproved, I started calling about my earnest money deposit. They wouldn't return my calls all of a sudden. I quickly went to my bank and stopped payment. I refuse to let them take my deposit and not give it back for whatever reason they might have in the fine print. I'm so relieved it didn't go through.

We own a condo in another KHov developed property and it turned out to be the most regrettable decision we made. The biggest complaint we have is the construction quality. On the outside it does look very good and expensive. However, living there for 3 years now (the place is almost 5 years old), the quality is beginning to show.

Additionally their sound insulation is the worst - we experience many sleepless nights. We are not the only ones, we've asked our neighbors and they've made same complaints.

We would highly recommend testing out before. Their post-sale service is not great either. Maybe due to the recent downturn, they've not responded to our board's requests to fix the simplest items. I would check out other KHov before making the purchase - they have mostly mixed reviews.

Virginia...you are not alone! After years of chronic sinus infections and a diagnosis of an incurable respiratory disease (in 2008), we hired a building and mold inspection specialist in October. The inspector found 9 types of mold and pathogens; structural defects; roof warping, windows pulling away from the frame, water leaking into the room; cold air coming through the window; defective HVAC unit, high moisture levels and a system which is "not designed to deliver filtered and treated air so that moisture, dust, and plant pathogens do not enter into the home via the air duct system;" a smoke alarm that almost caused a potential fire by sparkling, smoking and falling off the wall. After we presented Town and Country with the results of the inspection, Town and Country brought in their own inspector, who according to the Illinois Attorney General's 2007 Press Release, entered guilty pleas for himself and his companies (Aces Environmental Consulting) for providing the city with fraudulent inspection information and operating with an expired license.

After their "inspection, " Town & Country does not answer my phone calls or respond to my emails. Town & Country is well aware of the mold problems in this community and the structural defects of their homes. We are not the only family in Churchill Club that has notified Town and Country of the mold infiltration and building defects.

Anyone know how you can tell if they used Chinese Drywall? We do not have the tell tale rotten egg smell, but I heard that there are ways to cover for that?!

K Hovnanian American Mortgage (KHAM) is the most unprofessional and unresponsive firm I have ever dealt with. They pre-approved us in January, contingent on the sale of our current home. When we received an offer on our, 30 days later, we reached out to KHAM to confirm our approval, at which point we were informed our file had not yet been reviewed but that there was no indication we would not be approved. We urged them to review it as soon as possible as we were in the process of selling our current home. They assured us we were a high priority for them. The week before we signed on the sale of our home we called again to check on the status (30 days later) and were surprised to find out that we still had not been approved because they had not had the time to review of file yet, but once again assured us there was no indication we would not be approved and they were not in the business of denying loans and not to worry about the sale of our current home. They we signed on the sale of our home, KHAM contacted us, at 730PM in the evening, alerting us to an issue with our documentation (documentation they had in their posession for 90 days) and informed us we would not be able to qualify for the loan. After we sold our house. 20 Days from our scheduled closing on the new KHOV home. We went and forth with them for four days, and each day they did not return our phone calls until after 730PM, at which point it was too late in the day for our account manager to get the answers to our questions or too late for us to contact our accountant for the information we were requesting. Costing us valuable days. We sold our home based on assurances made by them of our approval. After the fifth day (15 days from our closing date) we reached out to another lender was able to issue us an approval, based on all the same documentation we had supplies KHAM (we provided KHAM several documents more than twice, it is our impression they either never looked at them or lost them repeatedly). Finally, in an effort to retain our business the offered to buy down our interest rate for us if we would stay. By this point we were so disgusted and had no faith in their ability to close our loan that we walked away from $13, 000. $10, 000 in closing costs for using the builders lender and the $3, 000 to buy down our interest rate. If someone is willing to walk away from that much money just so they do not have to deal with them any longer, that says alot. I believe they had NO intention of approving our loan and we would have been without a home. They allowed us to sell our home and made no effort to make us feel confident that we would be approved. I would NEVER EVER recommend using KHAM, no matter what they offer you.

I agree with his statement. They did the same exact thing to J L as to us. DO NOT USE KHAM as your lender. They are crooks and scammers. They use your earnest money and upgrade money as leverage to extort people. They do not give you an answer if you are approved or not within 30 days. Forcing you to automatically forfeit your earnest money. If you have cash to buy your ok, but be ready to wait two months for an approval. We had an FHA loan through KHAM and we waited 2 & 1/2 months. We gave al the supporting documents the next day we wanted the house we filled out their online application that day. They didn't even start the process on our file until 2 weeks later. THEY NEVER RESPOND IN A TIMELY MATTER OR ANSWER THEY PHONES. After 2 months we are pre-approved, BUT on the finally approval they denied us. We found out they did not properly evaluate my fiancé and were using his student loans which have been on deferment for over a year to calculate his debt to income ratio which by FHA stands and procedures they are not allowed to. We lost the house we wanted and they took our money. We are still in the process of trying to obtain a refund from their corporate office in Florida for our earnest money and upgrade money. It's been a nightmare and I DO NOT RECCOMEND KHAM TO ANYONE FOR A LOAN.

I had a house built in Culpeper, VA. This home is poorly built, all of the toilets leaked, major drywall cracks and trimming falling off. I wrote them up on Angie's list. DO NOT USE KHOV...YOU WILL REGRET IT!

Agree with the statement. We purchased a villa in Aldie, Va in 2013. We were shorted insulation in the attic, found shoddy workmanship in the installation of our floors, and we've found the windows to be of poor quality. Our gas fireplace was not insulated, yet when approached, we were told that it met code. "Code" means we make no effort to actually do the right thing. We were also told that these are energy efficient homes. We've found that our HVAC system design is "old" - with suspended attic ducts in an unconditioned environment, un-insulated duct boots that cause extremely uncomfortable conditions in the winter. On the exterior, my grass has been spotty because of the random tools, plastic and building material that was tilled into the year prior to sodding.

Customer service is a joke. I've had a parade of techs out who always find a way to use the "code" phrase. This is a horrible company and I have done my best to steer others away based on my experience.